Propulsion of vessels



May 31, 1932- T. R. TARN PROPULSION OF VESSELS Filed Oct. 25, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l WITNESSES M 4 INVENTOR OJX May 31, 1932 1 1', R, R 1,861,035

PROPULSION OF VESSBLS Filed 001;. 25, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WW HESS! 5 INVENTOR Patented May 31, 1932 UNTTED' hm; Mimi; new; am 1 Liz, m MyiinYention,pertains to thea pmpulsi'on ndima'neltverin rof bargegeships and other: watenzb nneg 011m by :means 015i 324i et or .jets ef :2 gas-i usually: airhxundenpness ire which 5 is cauSedsm-react in anrorifioe. nriorifiees and. toufiurth n:reactionetheihull structure of the WQSBL and surrounding; i water. 1 a The princinaboh iect "is the provision o-fsuoh a q'et; prov pulsion' means simple innarrangement' and flee i-ne rinuopetationnandhwhiohihas .an ins neased Bfliciency, eseto the propulsion effect pflodmeed'pen (unit eieapplied =pewen, oven jet p pell ng deuines iasvheretnfore pnoposedi ifilri hfinubiieohoitheinivention istoprm vide a; system 5013 .contnolvfiommaneuvering, the veeseh-byi which a steering; flanking; .lZNViStIIlg. peratinnsiendrlaterel nmvements necessary to. IPDQPQflKeQfiQiEHfilU-zflhid safely handle :the.

vessel, 5 or; itsmttending; tow, are accomplished n an attentive/maximum .i mm 1 maiz A still fnrther object of the invenhimlwis e x'flt flomp lfihafihfitofifi le llt wpmpui'sien and etiectiyemeneuweringsei the nesselby elimi-v hating the nsual; rundemwateri'and-rsuperirn dlewheels, rudders, stern-posts, struts, and z-lr ke-wfiuwhen t i,---1r" .:-*n:= w

- Other objects of the iii-Invention; with appear so I, more telly in the below detai1ed description h sk ,1 de eript n-ri Jae taken solely; f as StI-ie iNa /nd-M -inienyisenseilimitingm I inyentiqi ly'fifi Yetited efimsistsisilbstana A ti-ally imthe oonstruotion cem'bination l0caen ndta atiwe arrangement :qfmarts; all

s; will Ma ne-tally, ereinafter set flforhh nd. hqwm i rthe weompe iy rng drawing and finally pointed out 1n the appended ms- -:d a e l n! 'zzim'," Li

mhawa yw hevrela ye weagqm nt oiathe fifipagtg gn hoiiying the prineiples of my invention;

Prem um; o yt'smfs Application filed October 25, 1929. Serial posed: pa ts, such a serewtpmpellers, pad

of 3 apreie {T061 j embodiment [of my invention,

0 rBsi-may; oi m s ang-t ne; I; h veide fcribed in the following sp 1fiam a e s -emthisase a ibe gew qmppedi w -PI'QP'UJSI'BIB- sio'n isr'besti, otherrthings beingeqnarl mhichl 9 am, i i, w n 11 JL L L )fihttwl.) i an s'rAresi P TENT ori-ree -rrr 0 H U M v- 7., v

PENNSYLVANIA No. 402,415. 1 1 'llhil fvii 4 1h ill i, iii! UL Fig. 2 is an end View, looking toward stern, dll/ush-lfldlll l g fll vessel when -prnvided with two independently arranged ori'fieels F isi a bop plan kriew ef the forward 08 section 045 the vessel and a! sectional plan view of the stern seotion of the-vesselJ- W1 itflimlilar :referencemharaeters re-fen to si=rriilam. artezthroughout the several views of the dra ings mmrn u minnow 1'. on. 39 zilllieipfiobleln o f safe, eficient 'andeeonom so ioal :navigation hias' in' reeent years 'fieeei i d greatiattlentien and study: iPowelrenema ingt'units fog-1 watercraft halve been" li t ta a hrighfstwte mfieflioitemy bythe n-tilizatrotfi ofirefinenl heat eonset vin g apparatlis. v'Haw- 66 even-despite thwahove progress;- oom parativelydittleiadvanoement has been mane lliifillfi methUd g and pnacti ees adapted herniaplyimgithe power i generated for propulsion purposesnhltriswthepm? os'e of thi's in v'egi l 70 tinnntoaohtaaiin theibene Us and advantages; made I possible bjmthe pmvi imi ofl a simple, reflective and eflieienb prcqaulsicm aa rang'e inemt whebebjigas heretofore stated; the'useal 0* p-addleu wheels, I! serew I propellers, rlidelefs and; theil' menda nt slippfllfis and-'- power eratingsmeehamiisms are dispensed withpamd the powerr'intilliizedi owemoming -the ance'lwhiiehthesaielementsrpresent to prdpul sion made available for utilizationin a'uee full manner to add to the speed of ehewessei g te deereasenrnuintenance costs and increase openatingrisdeugitym 1 i ,1! w mm '6 flihia'invrention iahemnptishes the desirable endsih'eretofore recited iby -the "fltilization mi afliuid Zjete flenetoiore when fluid jets were userhfen .pgopulbion, a'r'eoouisewasneeeissiar-i1y hade to extremely ihigh fiuid pressnre and velocities. hIrt purpose to attain the de? sinalblewendsi wh ilei ntildzi ng a fluid jet landyet :to dispense with the necessity ofi high fiuidi pvessures and: velooi'tiest Scientifid ee forts'mafle imbthis field of endeavor have oon clusiivelyishownuthat that means of propul f D dri'y es or rpropelspastiern the} largestlmass orv velwne efir aten a he 1 lowes tlo itynm in other words that thegneater the quantitw iriw ter pe a-be 0n yTa je hegreater the efliciency thereof. With this principle as a to secure high efficiency and great reaQtiQnin,

cooperation with a structure wherein the energy contained in the air or other fluid used, after such fluid has issued from theorifice may, by proper design in the form of the hull of the vessel, be nade to operate on said hull and on a maximum quantity of water. i

Referring now to my drawings, it will be seen thate In the drawings, 10 indicates the hull of the vessel, which is formed, at its after end, with an inclined stern rake 11 which terminatesin. a horizontal portion 12, the latter being placed substantially at the load water line. A pair of elongated horizontally disposed, OI'ifiQQS 113 areformed through the stern rakell, usuallyfclosento the bottom of thehull, andeach communicates with an air compressor 15, the latter being preferably constructed and arranged to deliver air =:;.-directly as possible to orifices 13. Each of the blowers 15 is provided with an electric motor 16, for driving the latter, the current for such motors being derived from a generator 1'1 driven from 1a suitable centrally disposed power plant l8. A valve, 19, is pro'-.

videdior' each of the compressors 15so that the aircejected from the individual orifices 13 maybe controlled. The stern of the barge is provided with four skegs 20 adapted to prevent the air from expanding sidewise,

whichias shown,-are constructed abreast the orifice openings and extend rearward from the stern rake 11' to form channels for confiningand directing the air ejected fromorifices L3, :to a pathin which they will have the greatestgpropelling efliciency. The advantageous effect of thus allocating my skegs is that were they not so arranged asto confine ancl direct the air issuing from the orifiees,the s1ewing ofthe vessel,-due towave, windon-steering efiect, would cause the air to escape laterally thereby reducing the volume of water which would otherwise be set inmotion and become effective for propulsion purposes. It is,.vof course, obvious that the side press or skegs, as before pointed out, confine theissuing air in a sidewise direction, limit its movement laterally and thereby causethe expansion in volume to take effect in a downward rather than in a lateral direction,- thus confining the action of the air to water of less disturbed state than that found on and at the surface.

The" reaction of the jets of air issuing from the rearwardly directed orifices 13 exerts a forward propelling effect on the vessel, and, according to my invention, I obtain desirable results in such propulsion by making the orifices 13 of a relatively large area and so constructing and operating the compressors 15 that the air is ejected at a relatively low velocity, as, for example, ;by so proportioniiig the areaf of the orifiFes and the velocity of the jets of air issuing therefrom that the velocity of such jets, relative to the vessel, is only about twice that of the designed velocity of the vessel itself. I have ascertained that a velocity of the discharged air, relative to the vessel, of from one and one-half to four times the designed velocity of the vessel'itself will give a satisfactory propulsion efiiciency; Inasmuch as theimpulse or reaction of a jet issuing from an ori fice is double the hydrostatic pressure on the area of such orifice and, inasmuch as this is true independent 6 and apart from themature of the fluid issuing from the jetand the nature of the medium into which it is issued, it is clearthat'a' relatively high jBlLfPIOP'lll: sion reaction is available under the stern end of the vessel. j It is apparent that when thejet? reaction energy possible of extraction from the emitted fluid medium-by this means is coupled in: its application to the formed stern that the energy available, as pointed out hereinafter-, diie tothe di-flerencerin'specific gravity between the jet fluid medium andthe mediuminto which the jet isdischarged, to wit the water at considerable depth below the surface thereof, most effective propulsion is attained. In addition to the propulsion resulting from the reaction of the jets, the air, in ris ing upward along the inclined plane constituted by the stern rake 11, and iii-expand ing as the rise, have a further forward propelling e ect. Such propelling effect is still further enhanced by the horizontal'portion 12 of the stern, which confines the upward surge of water which would otherwise occur at that point'and causes such surge of water" to bedirectedhorizontally astern,and thereby further increase the propelling efi'ect without additional increase in power over that required to provide air for the jets; To make further use of "the'energy contained in the air jet issuing from'the orifice, that-is, the velocity pressure energy, as-well as the energy due to the difference in density between air and water and the necessarily attendant expansive characteristics thereof, the hull is so formed and shaped, as brought out in the drawings and disclosed above-as to permit of unobstructed travel, expansion and reaction on the flat inclined and rearwardly extending portion of the hull structure as limited by the depth o'f subtr'nergence of the; hull. The horizontal portion 12 is arrangediso that it occurs at about,or above 'theintersection" of the water level with the continuation of the inclined portion of the hull structure, or stern rake aforementioned. To insure the horizontal rearward movement of the water set in motion by the air released under the stern rake, this section of the hull is extended horizontally rearwardly, runs parallel to the surface of the water and extends transversely for the full width of each orifice. This portion embodies the principles of stern construction set forth in my Letters Patent No. 1,346.279, for screw propelled chamberedstern towboat, dated July 13, 1920.

F or steering the vessel, one or the other of the compressors 15 may be stopped, while the other continues to rotate, or, for a slight steering effect, one or the other of the valves 14 may be manipulated to reduce the amount of air ejected through the corresponding orifice 13. For backing the vessel, an orifice 21, extending horizontally across the bow, and arranged similarly to the orifices 13, may be provided, air for such orifice being supplied by means of an individual compressor 22. Likewise, for moving the vessel laterally, turning it upon a short radius, etc, side orifices may be provided at bow and stern and on the port and starboard sides, in a manner which will be readily understood from the foregoing.

It is to be understood, of course, that the mechanical means for carrying my invention into effect in connection with various types of vessel may be varied within wide limits, without exceeding the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A navigable vessel having adjacent inclined and horizontal stern portions, the inclined portion being substantially beneath the water level while the horizontal portion is substantially at the water level. an elongated and narrow fluid orifice mounted in said inclined stern portion and directed oppositely to the direction of propulsion, and means for discharging a fluid through such orifice.

2. A navigable vessel having adjacent inclined and horizontal stern portions, the inclined portion being substantially beneath the water level while the horizontal portion is substantially at the water level, an elongated and narrow fluid orifice mounted in said inclined stern portion and directed oppositely to the direction of propulsion, means for discharging a fluid through such orifice, and skegs secured to said inclined and horizontal stern portions for confining the emitted fluids.

3. The combination with a vessel having fluid passages leading through its stern and bow of means for forcing a fluid through said passages, and elongated narrow outlet orifices secured to said passages at the ends thereof and extending substantially transversely of the longitudinal axis of the vessel.

4. The combination with a vessel having adjacent inclined and horizontal stern portions and fluid passages leading through its stern and bow of means for forcing a fluid through said passages, elongated and narrow outlet orifices secured to said passages at the ends thereof, and skegs secured to said inclined and horizontal stern portions for confining emitted fluid.

5. The combination with a vessel hull having a substantially flat bottom, an inclined plane surface joined to said bottom and extending upwardly to a point adjacent the rear end and a substantially flat plane surface extending from this point to the stern of the hull, of a series of spaced skegs secured to and projecting from said inclined and horizontal portions and extending longitudinally of the hull to form inverted channels, apertures arranged in the inclined portion aforementioned and opening into said channels, and means for discharging compressed fiuids at a relatively low pressure through said apertures and into said channels, whereby when the hull is moving forwardly through the water said fluid will travel rearwardly along said channels, upwardly along the inclined plane, and rearwardly along the horizontal plane hull portion to increase the buoyancy of the vessel and drive it forward.

6. A navigable vessel having a substantially horizontal hull portion, an inclined upwardly extending stern portion joined to said horizontal hull portion, a horizontally extending supplementary stern portion joined to the stern end of said inclined portion, skegs secured to said inclined, last named, horizontal portion to form inverted channels, and elongated narrow air jets mounted in said inclined portion and directed oppositely to the direction of the propulsion of the vessel for propelling the same by directing air upwardly and rearwardly and then horizontally along the inclined and horizontal portions respectively.

In testimony whereof I si 11 my name.

THMA R. TARN. 

